


Give In To Me

by chochowilliams



Series: Building A Family [3]
Category: Gravitation
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Heterosexual relationships, Infidelity, Language, M/M, Male Slash, Romance, m-preg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-25
Updated: 2012-10-25
Packaged: 2017-11-17 01:02:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/545799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chochowilliams/pseuds/chochowilliams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is the third fic in the Building A Family Series. Bad Luck is heading back into the studio, but Shuichi is not so sure he has it in him anymore. Add to that a new neighbor and sudden bouts of nausea and Shuichi is heading for a mental breakdown.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Give In To Me**  
 **Two-shot**  
 **Sequel to:** “In the Closet”  
 **Building A Family Series**  
 **Written by:** Chochowilliams  
 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Gravitation or the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.  
 **Summary:** Bad Luck is heading back into the studio, but Shuichi is not so sure he has it in him anymore. Add to that a new neighbor and sudden bouts of nausea and Shuichi is heading for a mental breakdown.  
 **Warning:** M/M, Sexual Situation, Romance, Angst, Drama, Infidelity, OOC-ness, OCs, Language, M-Preg, Japan natives: surnames first  
 **Pairings:** Shuichi/Eiri, Maiko/OMC, OMC/OFC, Hiro/Ayaka, Hiro/Suguru  
 **Inserts:** “Give in to Me” by Michael Jackson, Dangerous; scene from “Parental Revenge”  
 **A/N:** This is the third fic in the Building A Family Series. In order they are: “Parental Revenge”, “In the Closet”, “Give In To Me”, “My Heart Beats Like A Drum”, This I Promise You, Because of You, “Limelight”.

 

* * *

 

You always knew just how  
To make me cry  
And never did I ask you  
Questions why  
It seems you get your kicks  
From hurting me  
Because your words just  
Aren’t enough  
Love is a feeling  
Quench my desire  
Give it when I want it  
Takin’ me higher  
Love is a woman  
I don’t wanna hear it  
Give in to me  
Give in to me

-“Give in to Me” by Michael Jackson, Dangerous

 

* * *

 

**Chapter 1**

**March - New York City, New York, USA**

“Please!” Shuichi sobbed in fright. He tugged on the man's viselike grip on his shoulder. “Don’t do this! What’ve I done?” he pleaded with the man in Japanese.

Sneering, the man snarled something the singer could not understand and brought the knife down in a swinging arc.

Shuichi screamed and instinctively brought up his arms to protect himself. He gave a strangled cry as he felt the cold steel of the blade slice across his arm. It did not hurt. That was a bad sign. It meant the cut was deep. In reaction, he tugged and jerked harder against the man's grip as he felt something trickle down his arms, but it was useless. The man was too strong!

Behind him, he heard a stampede of feet and an orchestra of yells and shouts. The door to his dressing room was flung open. There was a loud gasp. “Shindou-san!” yelled several familiar voices.

The man wielding the knife stumbled. Catching himself, he froze when he glanced over Shuichi's head at the intruders. But he would not be stopped. He snarled and glared down at Shuichi. He tightened his grip.

Shuichi glanced into the man’s eyes and shivered. They were twisted and hard. There was something to them that sacred Shuichi.

“Let me go! Please!” His whole body was shaking like a leaf in a tornado. Tears blurred his vision.

The deranged man raised the knife up over his head. The steel blade glistened in the overhead lights.

Shuichi threw his arms over his head in a vain attempt at protecting himself as the blade swung down.

With his scream echoing in his head, Shuichi shot up in bed with a sound gasp. His knuckles were white as he clutched the bed sheets to his naked chest. Violet eyes were wide and glassy with unshed tears. His heavy, panting breaths filled the eerie stillness of the night.

Shuichi took a deep breath and held it for several long seconds as he listened to the rapid beating of his heart and the rush of blood in his ears. He sighed long and deeply. Running his tongue over dry lips, he relaxed his death grip on the sheets.

As his breathing began to even out and his heartbeat returned to normal, Shuichi settled back onto the bed. Scrubbing his hands over his sweaty face, he turned to glance at his long time boyfriend who was sleeping peacefully besides him.

Not wanting to disturb him, Shuichi carefully sat up and tossed the covers aside. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he stood up and picked his way across the room to the bedroom door. Along the way, he picked up Eiri’s discarded shirt and slipped it on. He opened the door just enough for him to slip out into the hallway and closed the bedroom door quietly behind him.

 

* * *

 

Hazel eyes golden like the sun, snapped open. Flipping onto his back, Eiri draped an arm across his brow and sighed heavily as he stared up at the ceiling.

 

* * *

 

Downing the entire glass of water in one gulp, Shuichi set the glass on the counter besides the dinner dishes that had not been put away. Folding his arms over the rim of the stainless steel sink, he dropped his head onto his arms as quiet sobs shook his frame.

“Mama?” called a quiet voice from behind him.

Startled, Shuichi twirled around to see his adopted son standing in the doorway. “Riku.” Turning his back on his son, he quickly dried his tear stained face. “What are you doing up?” he asked, turning back around. “You should be in bed.”

Shuichi studied his son.

Now thirteen, Riku was rapidly surpassing him in height thanks to puberty. Shuichi had a feeling that the boy would be nearly as tall as his father was and Eiri was six-one--Shuichi always felt like a dwarf next to Eiri. Unlike Eiri, Riku was one of those natural blonds whose hair darkens with age until they become more of a brunette. At the moment, the teenager’s dirty blond hair was sleep tousled and standing on end. It was a lot like Eiri’s in the morning Shuichi had decided years ago. In a black and yellow plaid two-piece pajama set that Shuichi bought him when Bad Luck was in England, Riku yawned and rubbed his eyes.

In answer to Shuichi’s question, Riku shrugged.

Shuichi chuckled. “Come on.” He grabbed Riku’s shoulders and turned the boy around. “Back to bed,” he ordered as he steered Riku back down the hall to his bedroom. “We have a big day tomorrow. We’re going with Aunt Yoshiki to the amusement park.”

Riku made a sleepily affirmative noise. “Is Dad coming?” he asked around another yawn.

“Yeah. Since he has an interview on one of those American news programs in the morning, he will meet us there.”

“’Kay.”

 

* * *

 

“There we go,” Shuichi said as he pulled up the comforter around his son. “Comfy?”

Under ordinary circumstances, Riku would protest being treated like a child. He was thirteen after all, fourteen in a couple of months. But other than a nightly phone call and a brief interlude halfway through Bad Luck’s tour, Riku has not seen his parents in a little over six months, so being fawned over like this was a welcome change.

Riku nodded around a yawn.

“Alright. See you in the morning,” Shuichi said as he gave his son a hug.

Feeling mortified, Riku’s face flamed in embarrassment. “Mama,” Riku whined.

Snickering, Shuichi’s violet eyes gleamed mischievously. He planted a series of kisses on his son’s face.

“Ew,” Riku laughed as he tried to wiggle out of Shuichi’s grasp. “Mama!”

Shuichi snickered. Now he knew why Eiri got such a kick out doing this to him.

Riku squealed and started thrashing wildly around on the bed as he tried unsuccessfully to escape from Shuichi and his fingers. “Mama,” the boy laughed hysterically, “stop! That tickles!”

Chuckling, Shuichi decided to put his son’s torment on halt for the time being. It being the middle of the night and all. He heaved a light, contented sigh. A leftover laugh escaped. Standing up, he straightened the comforter around his son and whispered, “Good night,” before planting a chaste kiss on the boy’s forehead.

“Night Mama,” came the sleepy reply.

Shuichi smiled sweetly down at his son as the boy’s heavy lids drooped closed. It was amazing how he could just fall asleep on a dime like that.

He reached out and swept aside a stray strand of the boy’s silken hair.

Being away on tour for so long had many drawbacks. One of them was being away from his family. At least Eiri could come with him and Bad Luck, but unfortunately, their adopted son could not afford such a luxury. It was the middle of the school year. And because of Eiri’s bad experience with one, Eiri was against hiring a tutor for Riku so that the boy could come with them. So instead, he had been staying with Yoshiki.

Shuichi clutched his chest. His throat tightened around a threatening sob.

It was not just his son that these constant tours and promotional appearances kept him away from and he had to admit that it was all beginning to become a little too much. What happened before the show at Madison Square Garden not too long ago was prove of that.

The thought of going back into the studio and repeating the same old routine that he and the rest of Bad Luck has been following for the past decade made him nauseous. He dreaded returning back to Japan for that exact reason. They say that you know when it is time for a new job when you dread getting up in the morning. Shuichi knew that he was fast approaching that point.

Now that Bad Luck’s six-month tour in support of their album Loveless was finally over, Hiro, Suguru, Kei, Kai and Michael had all flown back to Japan: Hiro back to Ayaka and Michael to Anzu and his two beautiful little girls--Suguru, Kei and Kai were currently unattached.

The grip around Shuichi’s heart tightened a little more.

Eiri, Riku and he were scheduled to fly out this weekend. They could spend the next several months together before Riku flew back here to NYC for the summer. It was one of the conditions Yoshiki had for allowing Eiri and he to adopt her nephew. Even though Eiri was against it, Shuichi had tried to get Yoshiki to move out to Tokyo. He had even volunteered to pay for the move and the apartment, but Yoshiki had turned him down. He had a feeling her decision had a lot to do with Rage. In that case, Shuichi was glad she would rather live here in the States. The less he saw of that psychotic bitch the better.

He shuddered to think what he had put up with over the years because of her. He was grateful she was out of the country right now.

Shuichi crossed the room silently. After stepping out into the hall, he glanced over his shoulder at the lump buried beneath the layers of blankets and smiled before closing the door quietly behind him.

“You’re so good with him.”

Startled once again, Shuichi spun around with a yelp. There standing behind him with a smile on her face and wearing a slinky nightie less revealing than one of his stage outfits was Kitazawa Yoshiki. Shuichi breathed. With a hand over his rapidly beat heart, Shuichi laughed. “You scared me!”

Looking pleased with herself, Yoshiki giggled.

His heart rate slowly returning to normal, Shuichi glanced over his shoulder at Riku’s closed door. There was a plaque hanging at eye level with his son’s name written in Romanji above a picture of Atem in full regalia (1).

It really was good to be home. So to speak.

Yoshiki cocked her head to the side as she studied the expression on Shuichi’s face. She smiled secretly at the yearning on his face. Women were not the only ones whose clocks start ticking.

“Thank you.”

Her mind went blank at the sound of Shuichi’s voice. Yoshiki blinked. “Huh?”

Shuichi turned back around to face her. He smiled. “For taking care of him.”

“Of course! He is my nephew after all.”

Shuichi chuckled.

“Besides, he’s the only family I have left.”

Shuichi’s face fell. He nodded solemnly.

“Anyway,” Yoshiki continued in a more enthusiastic tone. Her attitude did a complete one-eighty in less than a heartbeat. “What’s up? What is going on? You okay?”

“Oh! Uhm, yeah,” Shuichi laughed nervously. He scratched the back of his head. “Fine. Fine. Just, uh, needed some water.”

With a look that said, she knew he was lying, but was going to let it slide for now, Yoshiki nodded slowly. “Alright.” She yawned. “Oh,” she exclaimed, instantly wide-awake. “By the way, how’s the arm?”

Shuichi held up his left arm against his chest, flexing the fingers. Nearly six inches long and spanning his wrist to his elbow, the deep gash he sustained from Scott Keene a little over a month ago had healed nicely. There was still a clearly defined scar from where the wound was. It would continue to fade over time. He had been lucky. It was shallow enough to not be serious and just deep enough to require stitches. Any deeper and who knows what sort of damage he could have incurred?

“Actually, pretty good,” he admitted.

“Good as new, huh?”

Lowering his arm, Shuichi nodded.

“That’s good. Well, I’ll see you in the morning then.”

“Night Yoshiki,” Shuichi called after the woman.

“Night,” Yoshiki replied over her shoulder.

Shuichi turned towards the guest room he was sharing with Eiri.

“Oh! Shu?”

“Hm?” Shuichi turned back. Yoshiki was looking at him from around her bedroom door.

“Nice look,” she said with a toothy grin.

Mortified, Shuichi’s face flamed in embarrassment when he remembered that he was in nothing more then Eiri’s shirt. It was a good thing that it fit him like a dress.

With a wink, Yoshiki shut her bedroom door.

 

* * *

 

Without a sound, Shuichi shut the bedroom door. Immediately, he was engulfed in a shroud of darkness. He winced as the latch caught. It sounded unnaturally loud in the deathly quiet of the apartment.

When his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, Shuichi carefully picked his way across the bedroom towards the bed.

Grabbing the hem of Eiri’s shirt, he pulled it up over his head and tossed it aside.

Slipping into bed, he pulled up the covers around his naked body and snuggled against the hard lean line of Eiri’s equally naked body.

He gave a start when he felt Eiri’s arms snake around his waist.

“Baka,” came Eiri’s deep whispered voice from out of the darkness.

“Eiri! You awake?” he squeaked.

“No, I’m talking in my sleep,” Eiri retorted.

“I’m sorry,” Shuichi apologized sheepishly. “Did I wake you?”

“Hn. You’re not exactly the stealthiest person in the world.”

Shuichi winced. “I’m sorry.”

It surprised Eiri that Shuichi actually knew what “stealthiest” meant, but then he did watch a lot of anime. “So?” he prodded.

“So…what?”

“Where’d you go?”

Sweating profusely, Shuichi wracked his brain. “Uhm…Aah…” He could not tell Eiri he had a nightmare about that Keene guy who tried to stab him in his dressing room at Madison Square Garden. He did not want Eiri to worry needlessly.

Eiri sighed heavily. Why the brat insisted on keeping these things from him was beyond him. He would not say anything tonight, but if this keeps up, he was going to put his foot down. Deciding to give his baka an out, he suggested, “Go to the bathroom, or something?”

“Huh?” Shuichi’s mind went blank. “Oh,” he exclaimed. “Uh, yeah! Yeah.” He chuckled nervously.

“Hm.”

Eiri’s arm vanished from his waist. There was movement besides him. He felt the mattress dip and the bed shake.

Turning onto his back, Shuichi turned a questioning gaze towards his lover only to find him hovering inches above him on all fours. Shuichi gulped. His face instantly went aflame with embarrassment while at the same time he felt his libido, which he was almost certain had been more than satisfied a mere hour or so ago, stir back to life. His heart started hammering. A mixture of emotions swelled within him.

Automatically, Shuichi’s gaze traveled down Eiri’s body to his erect member standing at attention against his stomach. Blushing, he forced his gaze away.

Eiri chuckled deeply. Even after all of these years. His baka was so cute.

Dipping his head, he started nibbling on Shuichi’s exposed neck while his hands roamed the mountains, plateaus and hidden valley that awaited him.

Sweat dotted his skin. Arching into his lover’s touch, wave after wave of pleasure coursed through Shuichi. He clutched the sheets in fisted hands. His legs trembled. His toes curled and dug into the soft mattress. His mouth flung open as wanton moans escaped into the still night.

 

* * *

 

**Tokyo, Japan**

A man of average height and average looks, someone easily looked over and quickly forgotten, stepped into the bar. There was nothing distinguishable about the man. Nothing stood out and that suited the man just fine this night. His narrow mud brown eyes scanned the crowded, noisy bar from a pale oval face. A lone male sitting in a booth in the far corner caught his attention. He recognized him immediately. Picking his way through the crowd, he made his way to the man. “Isaac Smith?”

Isaac raised blood shot eyes. He gave the man a not so polite once over. “Who the hell are you?” he slurred in thickly English accented Japanese.

“Rinjin Yasashii.”

“Who?”

Without waiting to be invited, Yasashii slid into the seat opposite the heavily intoxicated man. Leaning forward over the table, he clasped his hands together in front of him.

This man, this Isaac Smith, was born and raised in London, England. He came from a military family going back generations, entered the Royal Marines after graduating from high school and completed several tours of duty. After returning home, he joined the police force, but after ten years, he quit for reasons unknown and went to work for a distance relative at a reputable agency that provided--among other services--bodyguards for hire. Eight months ago, he was hired by Seguchi Tohma as a bodyguard for one Shindou Shuichi. A little over a month ago, Smith was unceremoniously let go after allowing himself to be bribed into leaving his post by a man who tried to murder Shindou Shuichi, the very man he had been hired to protect. Now, this once proud man was a fraction of what he once was.

“I have a proposition you may be interested in.”

Instantly alert, Isaac snapped to attention. His dark eyes flashed dangerously.

 

* * *

 

**Hokkaido, Japan**

Softly humming “Glaring Dream”, one of her brothers earlier songs, Maiko gently lifted four-month-old Chiaki out of the bouncer so as to not wake her and held her securely against her shoulder. Crossing the living room, Maiko pushed through the swinging door that led into the hallway where the bedrooms, utility room and bathroom were located.

She crept silently down the twilight-strewn hallway to the nursery located at the end of the hallway. While holding Chiaki with one hand, she pushed open the door with the other. She switched hands to grope the wall for the light switch. Finding it, she flipped it up. The soft glow of the lamp on the far side of the room snapped on. Crossing her daughter’s room to the white crib her brother had bought for her as an apology for being away during his niece’s arrival, she gently laid her daughter down.

Straightening, she brushed her baby’s soft, rosy cheek. Feeling the railing dig into her stomach, Maiko leaned over as far as she could and pressed her lips to Chiaki’s forehead.

It was so unreal. She was a mommy. Her! She still found it hard to believe.

With a smile on her face, Maiko tiptoed out of the room and quietly shut the door behind her.

Striding back down the hall, she pushed through the swinging door into the bright light of the combination dining room/living room. Her eyes automatically flew to the clock. It was getting pretty late. Where was he? Maiko crossed her arms over her stomach. He said he had to work late tonight to get ready for some business trip he was supposed to take next week, but she had had no idea he was going to be this late. She hoped nothing happened to him. Maybe she should call him.

 

* * *

 

The silver BMW slowed as it came upon a nearly ninety-degree turn. Its headlights flashed upon a petite, wafer of a girl who had a backpack covered completely with patches strapped across her back. She was strolling along the shoulder of the road, huddled against the bitter chill that seemed to have planted roots with every intention of staying for a long holiday. The icy wind blowing down from the mountain stirred the several inches of snow that had fallen over the last couple of days into a near white out.

As the car passed the girl, it slowed and veered off the road onto the shoulder. The hazard lights flashed came on.

The girl picked up her pace.

Within the silver BMW, over the monotone drool of the newscaster, there came a muffled buzzing sound. It was quickly silenced.

 

* * *

 

Maiko stared down at the phone in amazement. Did he just hang up on her?

 

* * *

 

The window scrolled down.

“H-hey,” the girl stuttered around her chattering teeth. What little of her face could be seen underneath the fur-trimmed hood and bright red scarf was as red as Rudolph’s nose.

“Where you headed?”

“Sa-ppo-ro,” she managed to say.

“Sapporo? That’s where I’m going. Get in. I’ll give you a ride.”

“Really?”

“Sure. You shouldn’t be out in this weather.”

She quickly scrambled into the car before he could change his mind. Slipping off her gloves, she held out her hand as the car slowly pulled back onto the road. “I’m Karin. Yasashii Karin.”

They shook hands.

“Karin? It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too.”

“So, Karin, tell me. What brings you out in this beautiful weather?”

Karin giggled.

 

**...To Be Continued…**

  
**(1)** Atem – otherwise known as “Yami Yugi” or “Pharaoh” from YuGiOh!

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Give In To Me**  
 **Two-shot**  
 **Sequel to:** “In the Closet”  
 **Building A Family Series**  
 **Written by:** Chochowilliams  
 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Gravitation or the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.  
 **Summary:** Bad Luck is heading back into the studio, but Shuichi is not so sure he has it in him anymore. Add to that a new neighbor and sudden bouts of nausea and Shuichi is heading for a mental breakdown.  
 **Warning:** M/M, Sexual Situation, Romance, Drama, Angst, Infidelity, slight-Fantasy, OOC-ness, OCs, Language, M-Preg, Japan natives: surnames first  
 **Pairings:** Shuichi/Eiri, Maiko/OMC, Hiro/Suguru, Hiro/Ayaka, OMC/OFC  
 **Inserts:** Recap from Chapter 1  
 **A/N:** This is the third fic in the Building A Family Series. In order they are: “Parental Revenge”, “In the Closet”, “Give In To Me”, “My Heart Beats Like A Drum”, This I Promise You, Because of You, “Limelight”.

 

* * *

 

**Last Time**

A man of average height and average looks, someone easily looked over and quickly forgotten, stepped into the bar. There was nothing distinguishable about the man. Nothing stood out and that suited the man just fine this night. His narrow mud brown eyes scanned the crowded, noisy bar from a pale oval face. A lone male sitting in a booth in the far corner caught his attention. He recognized him immediately. Picking his way through the crowd, he made his way to the man. “Isaac Smith?”

Isaac raised blood shot eyes. He gave the man a not so polite once over. “Who the hell are you?” he slurred in thickly English accented Japanese.

“Rinjin Yasashii.”

“Who?”

Without waiting to be invited, Yasashii slid into the seat opposite the heavily intoxicated man. Leaning forward over the table, he clasped his hands together in front of him.

This man, this Isaac Smith, was born and raised in London, England. He came from a military family going back generations, entered the Royal Marines after graduating from high school and completed several tours of duty. After returning home, he joined the police force, but after ten years, he quit for reasons unknown and went to work for a distance relative at a reputable agency that provided--among other services--bodyguards for hire. Eight months ago, he was hired by Seguchi Tohma as a bodyguard for one Shindou Shuichi. A little over a month ago, Smith was unceremoniously let go after allowing himself to be bribed into leaving his post by a man who tried to murder Shindou Shuichi, the very man he had been hired to protect. Now, this once proud man was a fraction of what he once was.

“I have a proposition you may be interested in.”

Instantly alert, Isaac snapped to attention. His dark eyes flashed dangerously.

 

* * *

 

**Chapter 2**

**A Week Later - Tokyo, Japan**

He watched them from the internet café across the street.

In his mind, he imagined swinging an axe at that blond whore’s head.

His grip tightened around the black mouse. How dare he? Who did that monster think he was holding his Shu-han’s hand like that? Bastard!

Have fun playing house while you can, he sneered in his mind. Because soon, Shu-han will be mine!

 

* * *

 

Shattering the silent hush that had fallen upon the condominium, the elevator arrived at the top floor with a ping. The door slid open and out stepped a blond haired man standing an inch over six feet tall whose long, shapely fingers were holding his partner’s hand, a man with a shock of white dyed hair who stood nearly a foot shorter. Both wheeled suitcases behind them as they strolled down the hallway to their apartment.

There was a clatter of wheels behind them followed by a grumbling voice. “Ugh! Why do I have to be the porter?”

“Because I said so,” Eiri answered over his shoulder.

As he lugged behind his parents with their luggage, Riku stuck out his tongue at his father’s back.

“I saw that.”

Shuichi giggled.

“Saw what?” Riku asked innocently.

Stopping before their apartment, Eiri dropped Shuichi’s hand to dig out his keys and turned to glare at his son.

Riku looked innocently back.

Shuichi giggled again. “Eiri,” he scolded as he playfully slapped the man. “Be nice.”

After unlocking the door, Eiri flung it open. Stepping aside, he waved his family inside.

Shuichi entered first. Rising up on his tiptoes, he pressed his lips against his lovers in a brief, chaste kiss that held the promise of what tonight would bring. Eiri’s eyes flashed dangerously.

When Riku passed him, Eiri gave him a swift smack upside the head.

“Ow!” Riku cried as his head snapped forward. “Mama! Daddy just hit me,” he whined as he vanished within the apartment with the trolley that held six months of luggage from the three of them.

“He what?! Uesugi Eiri,” Shuichi shouted from deeper within the apartment.

“I did no such thing,” Eiri replied as he stepped inside and shut the door behind him. “The kid’s delusional.”

“I am not!”

 

* * *

 

**April – A Month Later**

“She’s what?!” came the enraged bellow. “You bastard! Cheater! Pervert! Liar!”

“Suguru.”

“No! I don’t want to hear it!” With tears prickling his eyes, Suguru reached behind him for the sleek blue vase and aimed it at his lover’s head.

With a yelp, Hiro ducked. The antique ceramic vase they bought while in Germany several months back missed him by centimeters. It sailed passed Hiro’s flaming red hair and exploded against the wall behind him. The jagged pieces sailed back at him as if the wall held some elasticity. “Suguru please,” Hiro pleaded.

“Drop dead asshole!”

He should have known. What a fool he had been! Of course, Hiro would go back to her. He should have known that he was nothing more than a fling, just a warm body with a hole to fuck when Hiro was horny. He could not believe that he had allowed himself to fall in love with him. Idiot! Naturally, all those “sweet nothings” Hiro had whispered in his ear as they made love night after night had always been intended for her and not him. He had known, but had allowed himself to be swayed anyway. Dammit!

“You said…” Suguru’s voice cracked. “You said you weren’t in love with her anymore,” he spit angrily, his voice stronger.

“I’m not!”

“Liar,” Suguru hissed.

“No! Sug-”

“You said you were going to leave her! And then you go and get her pregnant!”

“Suguru, please-!”

“Fuck off!”

“No!” Hiro swallowed the space that separated them with quick determined strides. He grabbed his forbidden lover and pulled him none too gently to him.

Suguru struggled against the vise-like grip.

Hiro tightened his hold in reaction. “No,” he repeated in a softer, calmer voice. “Please, just listen, okay?”

“Why the hell should I?” Suguru snapped.

“Because I love you, Fujisaki Suguru, and you love me.”

Despite the betrayal and humiliation he felt, the fight within Suguru dwindled and died. How had he ever become so weak? Damn this man. Sighing, he wrapped his arms around Hiro’s waist and snuggled against his broad chest. “Alright,” he whispered. “Alright!”

“Thank you,” Hiro whispered back.

 

* * *

 

**A Week Later**

How do you know when it is time to get a new job? When you dread waking up in the morning. That was exactly how Shuichi was feeling a month after returning home from Bad Luck’s six-month world tour in support of their last album, Loveless. He had gotten up to see Riku off to school, but as soon as his son left with Koji, who would be acting as his bodyguard until he returned to New York for the summer, Shuichi made a beeline back to bed.

“Baka.”

Shuichi groaned from the safety of the dark cave underneath the covers.

“C’mon! Let’s go! Don’t you have a band meeting?”

Shuichi moaned. He did actually. Suguru had phoned him last night. Apparently, it was time once again to gather the troops and discuss their next CD. He frankly would rather spend the rest of the day in bed. The thought of getting up, getting dressed and marching his sorry, lazy ass into the studio made him sick to his stomach. It was like the first day of school only ten times worse.

Eiri sighed. Striding across the bedroom, he grabbed the blanket and pulled. The blankets dropped away to reveal his baka curled up in a fetal position in the middle of the bed. There were dried tears on his face. Eiri was taken back. He had never seen Shuichi like this before. “Shu?”

Scrunching into a tight ball, Shuichi buried his face in Eiri’s pillow that he was hugging to his chest.

Letting the blankets drop to the floor, Eiri rounded the bed and curled himself around his depressed lover. “Baby,” he whispered as he ran his fingers through Shuichi’s sweat drenched hair. “What’s wrong?”

Shuichi shook his head. For the life of him, he had no idea. He just knew that he did not want to get up.

“Did you have a bad dream, or something?”

Again, Shuichi shook his head. Actually, he not had any nightmares since they returned home last month.

“Then what is it? What’s going on in that empty little head of yours, huh?”

Something inside Shuichi snapped. Pushing Eiri away from him, he jumped up out of bed as if he had been shot and glared angrily down at a startled Eiri and sobbed, “I don’t know! I don’t know, okay?”

Knowing it must be something serious if Shuichi did not scold him, belatedly of course, about calling him an idiot, Eiri crawled off the bed and enfolded his lithe angel in his arms.

Shuichi wrapped his arms around Eiri’s waist and burying his face in Eiri’s shirt, starting crying. His tiny frame shook as he sobbed. “I don’t know,” he repeated around his tears.

He had been fine. Then he received a phone call the other night from Hiro. Apparently, Ayaka was pregnant. It was not that he was not happy for his best friend because he was! He wished Hiro all the best. He knew that Ayaka and Hiro have been having some troubles lately. So, it was good to see that they were working things out. But for some reason, while he was ecstatic that his friend was going to be a daddy, it also made him feel like a miserable mess and also, strangely, a little angry and he did not know why. Was he jealous? He knew he has been having this longing for some time now to have his own baby. Everyone else around him was settling down and having a family of their own and it made him depressed to think that he was the only one stuck in neutral. But that was not why he felt this searing dread about going to NG to discuss Bad Luck’s new CD.

“I don’t know,” he continued to cry.

And that made it so much worse.

Frowning, Eiri hugged Shuichi close. He felt so helpless. What was he supposed to do?

 

* * *

 

Somehow, Shuichi had managed to drag himself out of bed this morning and make it into the studio, but all he wanted to do was crawl back into bed with Eiri and have himself a good cry.

The tight black T-shirt that had some obscure decal across the front stretched tautly as Shuichi crossed his arms over his chest. He had one high-heeled booted foot planted against the wall behind him. Leaning back against the wall, Shuichi’s puffy, red-rimmed violet eyes that were hidden behind a pair of dark, wraparound shades stared out over the conference room. He had put on a little makeup this morning to hide the fact that he was whiter than bed sheets

Across the room in the far corner, Hiro and Suguru were conversing adamantly in low tones. He was beginning to wonder about those two.

Michael, grinning like a mad man, was lounging at the long conference table and speaking rapidly in English over his cellphone. He was most likely speaking with his wife Anzu. Apparently, they were trying to have another baby.

No surprise, Kei and Kai were late.

From his position, Shuichi could see Jacob as he stood out in the hall.

Sighing, he dropped his leg to the floor and ran his fingers through his snow-white hair. He laced his fingers behind his head. The tiny gold hoops in his ears glistened as he turned his head to stare blankly out the window.

“Are you okay?” asked a sudden voice in his ear.

Shuichi jumped away from the wall with a startled yelp. He threw his bassist a nasty look as he placed a hand over his rapidly beating heart and tried to relearn how to breathe. “Dammit, Michael,” he breathed.

“Sorry,” Michael chuckled.

Shuichi heaved a sigh. Giving him one last look, Shuichi pulled out one of the chairs at the table and plopped himself down onto it. It gave him time to process Michael’s question. Was he okay? He shrugged. Not really. “Just tired,” he said aloud.

Tired. Could it really be as simple as that? It made sense though. Bad Luck has been a staple in the music industry for the past ten years. They had--what?--seven albums, eight including the Live from Tokyo Bay CD, close to thirty music videos, at least thirty-five singles. They were on the road for more than six months out of a year for one thing or another. And not only did he write a majority of their songs, but he also composed the preliminary music for a great deal of the tracks and he has begun producing and as well as co-directed some of their music videos.

But Hiro and he had been a team long before Bad Luck was ever signed to NG Productions. They started Bad Luck back in middle school after Hiro stumbled across him in the music room where he had been practicing for the school talent show. Hiro introduced himself and asked if he could jam with him and the rest was history. So, close to fifteen years he has been doing this.

Wow, Shuichi thought, has it really been that long? No wonder he was tired.

Maybe it was time for Bad Luck to take a well-deserved vacation.

 

* * *

 

They were laughing as they stepped off the elevator and strode confidently down the carpeted hallway. They inclined their heads in greeting at an older gentleman dressed in grey overalls who was pushing a cleaning cart. The patch over his left breast read, “Niwa”.

The sound of raised, angry voices greeted them as they rounded the corner.

Sighing, Kai ran his fingers through his shoulder length chestnut brown hair. “They are at it again,” he said in disbelief.

A nostalgic smile crossed Kei’s face. It was just another day in the life of Bad Luck. He would expect nothing less from his cousin and the band’s young manager. They have been butting heads since the day Tohma added Suguru to the group.

“I wonder what Shuichi did this time?” Kai pondered.

Kei chuckled.

They exchanged sly glances.

“Loser has to wear a dress for a week,” Kei suggested wickedly.

Kai rolled his eyes. “Oh, please!”

“Come on, Kai. Where’s your-? Hey!”

“Deal,” Kai laughed maniacally over his shoulder as he tore down the hall.

“You are so dead,” Kei shouted after his older by five minutes twin.

The voices grew louder the closer the Shiro twins got to the conference room.

Arriving at Conference Room 6 first, Kai was the victor. Grinning, he stepped over the threshold to announce their arrival, but stopped short at the scene before him.

Not having enough warning, Kei collided into him. “Hey!”

Kai put his finger to his lips and hushed him.

Standing between him and Hiro was Shuichi’s American bodyguard, Jacob, who looked uncertain at the yelling match taking place inside the small, claustrophobic confines of the conference room.

“Fine,” a red-faced Shuichi snapped over the marble table at the green haired keyboardist turned manager. “Do as you please!” Pushing away from the table, Shuichi grabbed his black messenger bag that had his initials stitched in large pink dauphin font along the flap. Strapping his bag across his chest, he stormed out of the room, pushing roughly passed Kai and Kei as if he did not see them, with Jacob not too far behind him.

Kai and Kei exchanged a worried, confused glance. What that been about?

 

* * *

 

Shuichi sagged against the back wall of the elevator as it descended down to the underground parking garage. His vision blurred behind a veil of tears. When a sob escaped into the tight confinement of the metal box, he slapped a hand over his mouth.

Jacob, who had stationed himself before Shuichi in the front of the car by the elevator doors, pretended not to notice.

Once he was able to compose himself, Shuichi reached into his bag and pulled out his cellphone with a trembling hand. He speed dial to call the house. “Eiri? Come pick me up?”

 

* * *

 

“Uh, what just happened?” Kai questioned as he and his brother stepped cautiously into the room.

Suguru threw the twins a nasty glare before turning away with a “humph”.

With a hand on his hip, Hiro raked his other hand through his hair, heaving a heavy sigh. He was getting too old to play referee.

“Oh, nothing,” Michael answered from the safety of the far side of the room, which was as far away as he could get from Suguru. “Just the end of Bad Luck.”

“What?!”

 

* * *

 

“So, you quit?”

Shuichi sighed heavily. Dropping his arms, he pulled his legs up and wrapped his arms around his knees as Eiri weaved expertly through midday traffic. Resting his cheek on his jean clad knee, Shuichi stared blankly out the tinted Mercedes Benz window as the city whizzed by in a blur of color.

Shuichi seemed so miserable that Eiri did not have the heart to tell him to get his feet off the seat.

Eiri grew worried when Shuichi remained silent. Without taking his eyes off the road, he reached over and gently tucked a stray strand of Shuichi’s soft locks behind his pierced ear. “Baby?”

“No.” He had been outvoted. Plain and simple.

“How?” Eiri asked him softly.

Shuichi had not realized that he had spoken aloud.

Basically, when Suguru opted to start the meeting without Kei and Kai, deciding to fill them in when they arrived, the proposal was submitted through Suguru from Tohma to have some sort of compilation CD.

“Like a greatest hits CD?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s wrong with that? It’s high time you guys had one.”

Shuichi agreed. Truthfully, he was not sure he could go through the rigorous workings of putting together another album. He had nothing in him. He was totally burnt out. So the idea of putting together something like a greatest hits album was a welcome surprise. The problem came with the second half of the suggestion. Suguru wanted something that various artists, like Mötley Crüe for example, have done in the past where they put out a 2 CD album. The first disk would have some of their greatest hits while the second CD would be all new stuff. And in true Bad Luck fashion, it would have to be finished for release sometime around the New Year.

Eiri cocked an eyebrow at that. Bad Luck just returned less than a month ago from a world tour and that little Tohma clone wanted them to out a 2 CD set full of both greatest hits and new material and have it all completed in less than nine months? The kid was worse than K, if that was even possible.

A tear slid down Shuichi’s face.

Shuichi had been sent reeling by the pitch. Both Hiro and Michael were game and he knew that his cousins would be all for it, but Shuichi had nearly burst into tears.

“Oh, hell no. No way in bloody hell,” Shuichi had exclaimed.

“Well, then, what do you suggest?” Suguru had fired back

Shuichi knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that if he even attempted to put together this compilation CD that Suguru wanted them to do, nothing good would come from it.

He was more then game to put together a greatest hits CD. Anything more than that and he could make no promises.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Suguru had snapped.

What he was saying was quite simple. Maybe it was high time Bad Luck took some down time. While both Hiro and Michael had been shocked at the suggestion, especially coming from him, Suguru had gone on a rampage.

Of course, it was put to a vote and as he had expected, he was outvoted. They were going to put together the 2 CD album. But whether Shindou Shuichi was part of that process still remained to be seen.

 

* * *

 

**September**

Spring came and went. Followed closely by summer and now fall was knocking at their doors.

Riku had finished the first semester of his second year of middle school (it was scary how quickly he was growing up) and then flew right back to New York City to spend the summer with Yoshiki.

The apartment was quiet without the rambunctious teenager, his posse and harem of girlfriends tearing through the place, but it gave Shuichi and Eiri some time alone and they sure as hell used the solace of the apartment to their advantage.

Then as quickly as it came, summer was over and with it the start of the new semester. Riku was back with a fresh new tan and another new girlfriend. Shuichi had laughed that their son took after his father. Eiri had remained silent, but the twitching eye gave his thoughts away.

Ayaka was now five months pregnant and as big as a house, though to mention it in front of her was nothing short of suicide.

She had been a little disappointed when she learned the sex of the baby. Apparently, she was having a boy, but had been hoping for a girl. She quickly got over that little set back, though.

Shuichi was glad that Hiro and Ayaka seemed to have been able to patch things up.

The two of them married five years ago against the wishes of Ayaka’s parents’. It had been a small affair, which Tatsuha had overseen. Not long after, they started having problems. Ironically, around that same time, it was leaked to the press about their relationship. Shuichi wondered if the two were connected--though, Ayaka should have known what she was getting herself into when she started dating Hiro; it was not as if she had not known what Hiro did for a living. It was not as if Hiro and Ayaka had been trying to hide their relationship, as the tabloids seemed to enjoy suggesting, for one reason or another. The truth was, both of them had had front row seats to the hype, to say the least, surrounding his and Eiri’s relationship and Hiro had wanted to save Ayaka that. Besides, Ayaka was not in the business. She was a “commoner”, so to speak, a timid, private girl who kept to herself. But of course, it was impossible to keep things secret for very long when you were in the public eye.

Right before Bad Luck left on tour last fall, Shuichi would have bet anything that when they returned home, Hiro would find his belongings at the curb. To everyone’s surprise, not only had they worked things out, but were expecting a baby come December.

But then again, looks could be deceiving.

And then there was Michael. His half-American friend was to be a father. Again. His wife, Anzu, found out in June. Come February, there would be another Montgomery-Kagawa female in the world.

Kei and Kai were both still single and spending most nights at one club or another. They will never change.

As for Shuichi, against his better judgment, he decided to work on the 2 CD compilation set--mostly, because he was outvoted. Though, he made it painfully clear that he was against this project and wanted nothing to do with it, but would fulfill his contract and that after, they would see.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Suguru had asked.

“You’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you?” Shuichi had snapped right back.

To say that Suguru and he were not on the best of terms right now would be an understatement. They had never really gotten along, but in recent years, they had actually started to become something akin to friends. But now, Shuichi knew that if they did not go into their respective corners and soon, he was not going to be responsible for what happened.

Of course, the tabloids were having a field day with the discourse among the ranks.

Bad Luck was his life. It was his baby. He was Bad Luck. It may be egotistical to think such a thing, but it was true nonetheless. So he could not very well quit. Though as the months continued to tick by, his stress level and anxiety grew. His exhaustion grew. He has always been known as something as a crybaby, but the amount of time he spent nowadays curled up in bed bawling his eyes out had increased. Now, he could not promise anything. Especially now.

“Mama,” called Riku through the house.

“Yeah?”

“Phone!”

Uncurling himself from the couch where he had been watching the morning news, Shuichi grabbed the remote off the coffee table and turned off the television. Then crossed the living room, rounded the dining table and stepped into the kitchen. He took the cordless extension from his son who was dressed in his black high-collared school uniform. “Hello? This is Shindou.”

“Hello, Shindou-san, this is Dr. Ohtani.”

“Hello, Doctor.”

“Bye Mama!”

Covering the phone with his hand, Shuichi watched over his shoulder as Riku grabbed his book bag off the table and swung the thirty-pound monstrosity over his shoulder. Riku staggered under the weight. “Be careful,” Shuichi called after Riku as the boy stumbled into the entrance hall to change into his shoes.

“I will.”

“Love you!”

“Love you, too,” Riku returned right before the door shut.

“Shindou-san,” the doctor’s voice called over the line. “We got the results of the blood test back.”

Shuichi gulped nervously.

A week ago, Eiri had had enough and had put his foot down, demanding Shuichi go and see the doctor.

“And it seems that congratulations are in order.”

His mind blank, Shuichi blinked stupidly. “Huh?” he questioned with a deadpanned voice.

“You’re pregnant, Shindou-san.”

The colored drained from Shuichi’s face. Feeling dizzy and lightheaded, Shuichi collapsed into the chair behind him. The phone slipped out of his grip and clattered to the floor.

He had never been so relieved in his entire life that Eiri was out on some book tour for the next couple of weeks because he really would not have known what to tell him.

“Oh, God,” Shuichi moaned. This could not be happening to him.

 

**…The End…**

 

 


End file.
